TODAY is Angela Aki’s third album overall, and her second on a major label. It debuted at #1 on the Oricon charts, which was also its debut weekly rank, and was released on the 19th of September, 2007.

Tracklisting

1. Sakurairo (サクラ色; Sakura Colour)
2. Again
3. TODAY
4. Ai no Uta (愛のうた; Love Song)
5. Tashika ni (たしかに; Surely)
6. Silent Girl
7. Moral no Soushiki (モラルの葬式; The Funeral of Morals)
8. Otome Gokoro (乙女心; The Feelings of a Girl)
9. One Melody
10. Tomo no Shirushi (友のしるし; Friend Symbol)
11. Kodoku no Kakera (孤独のカケラ; Fragments of Solitude)
12. On&On
13. Surrender

To be completely honest, I’ve never been a real ballad fan. While this is the case, Sakurairo is one of the few ballads that can keep me entertained throughout, which instantly makes it a favorite of mine. The verses can sound a bit dull, with the slow, quiet, yet cheerful piano and instrumental accompaniment, but once the orchestra comes in for the bridge and chorus, the song instantly becomes ten times more interesting. I’m a sucker for orchestras in pop songs, ballads or otherwise, so this is a huge plus, and it’s also what makes this song so great. One of Angela’s best. However, I won’t leave out one gripe that I have: Sometimes it sounds like she’s struggling to reach a note and just doesn’t quite make it. It might just be me, but that’s how I hear it.

We now come to something different. Again is one of Angela’s synth-driven pop songs, and placing it after Sakurairo was a good idea because of this, because it helps show newcomers some of her versatility when it comes to music. However, she seems to have the same problem of struggling and failing to reach a note, so it brings it down. She has better, but it’s still a great song.

And again (pun, maybe?), we’re treated to a different style of music. TODAY is actually the same kind of song as Again, except that it’s a bit slower. It’s a synth-driven pop song, still with Angela’s trademark piano. What makes it so different to Again is the slight rock sound that the song gains in the chorus, mainly due to the utilization of electric guitars, which Angela never really used before. Her voice is still great in this song, as it always is, and she never sounds like she’s struggling this time, which is great.

For some reason, Angela’s version (Come on, every J-Pop needs a song with this name, it’s almost customary, AM I RIGHT?!), and no one elses, of Ai no Uta makes me think of that Gamecube game Pikmin, cause it was the first song of this title that I heard after learning that Ai no Uta was a commercial song for that game. Anyway, back on topic, Ai no Uta is another of Angela’s brilliant ballads, and that’s mainly due to this song’s AMAZING arrangement. I’m a huge fan of piano solo songs, and while Ai no Uta isn’t exactly a piano solo, the majority of it focuses solely on the piano, so it counts. The orchestral arrangement just makes the song even better. I actually prefer this to Sakurairo.

Next is probably the most cheerful song on this album. I’ve listened to Angela ever since I discovered her ONE mini-album, but I was a passing listener. The first song that REALLY dragged me in was this one: Tashika ni. It’s a fast paced, upbeat, happy song, that focuses a LOT more on the synth and drums than the piano, which is another odd choice for Angela. I love how it opens (which DOES prominently feature a piano), and it doesn’t disappoint throughout. It can be a bit repetitive, but it uses short verses and somewhat constant choruses to make a great mix that’ll keep you from getting bored too fast. A great cheer-up song. It probably has one of my favorite meanings in it too: Love surely (Or definitely, I’m getting multiple meanings for Tashika ni) exists.

The opening for Silent Girl instantly reminds me of Ai no Uta, apart from Angela’s singing of the title opening the song, then having the piano follow. Throughout, it’s easily compared to the aforementioned ballad, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it’s a great song in its own right. It has a beauitufl chorus to it, which is the main part that keeps it original.

Moral no Soushiki opens with some dark, eerie synth, followed by Angela’s looping piano solo, and quickly followed by the lyrics. It’s another fast song, and Angela sings pretty fast to keep up with it, and while the verses are somewhat boring, the bridge gains a slightly more epic sound, before exploding into the awesome chorus, which as usual, is the highlight of the song. Her use of the phrase “Pater Noster”, or Father’s Prayer, is interesting too, as it ends the bridge to lead into the chorus.

We now come to one of my top three songs on this album: The first being Ai no Uta, the second being this song, Otome Gokoro. It’s another bright, cheery song, and I absolutely LOVE the piano that opens this song, as well as the electric guitar usage. The vocals are great, as usual, with none of the struggles that the first songs posed. I can’t help but smile when I hear it, for some reason, and if it has a sad meaning behind it, I couldn’t tell, because it sounds way too damn happy.

We now come to the half of the album that I can never really remember. One Melody has a pretty piano opening to it, but the verses seem to at first consist of random piano pressings and Angela singing over them. Not too interesting if you ask me. The chorus isn’t too compelling either, really. This song is just sort of a bore to me, despite being at least half of a piano solo. I’ll admit, the instruments in the second half help make it a bit more interesting, but not enough.

Tomo no Shirushi is another familiar song. It has an interesting acoustic opening, before bringing in the piano, and a synth backing that reminds me, oddly enough, of a light hearted Moral no Soushiki. It’s quite odd, but I like the effect it has. Its also a bit slower than Moral, which isn’t a huge change, really, but still. It’s a nice song.

Kodoku no Kakera is probably one of the only ballads that can even come close to matching Sakurairo. However, something about it just makes me lose interest. I can’t think of what it actually is, but I can never really listen to it, despite how far it goes to strive for rivalry of it’s older sister/brother, a.k.a. Sakurairo.

We now come to the final upbeat song before the end of the album. On&On is probably Angela’s most aggressive song. The barrage of sound given by the heavy instruments in the song actually compliments the piano well, and Angela’s voice is great here, especially when she’s hitting the higher notes in the chorus. This would’ve made a great A-side to a single. Too bad Sakurairo replaced it… This ties for a place in the top three with one other track…

…Namely, Surrender. This is, actually, my number one song on this album, despite what I may have said before. It opens beautifully with a sweeping piano and orchestral arrangement, before slowing down to enter the first verse. The lyrics in this song are outrageously cute when they want to be, and they’re all in English, which makes it even better. It has a wonderful meaning to it, which should be easy to understand if you pay enough attention. I could ramble about Surrender for hours, but I’ll leave it here by saying: Best song ever.

Album Grade
A+

Favorite Tracks
Surrender, On&On, Otome Gokoro, Sakurairo, Ai no Uta

This album acts as probably the best piece of proof available as to why Angela Aki is currently my favorite J-Pop artist. Despite what I may say about Ami and Perfume being at the top, no one can ever really knock Angela from the top spot. The only downside to her, and this album in general, are that they mark the start of Angela’s ten month hiatus, which is quickly becoming 12 months. I’m hoping we hear more from her soon.